UCNS Endorses AAN Position Statement on Fellowship Application Timing

1-16-2019 The Board of Directors voted unanimously to support the position statement that recommends all fellowship programs participate in a unified determination date in the early fourth post graduate year (PGY-4) of training period for Adult Neurology residents and early PGY-5 for Child Neurology and Neurodevelopmental Disability residents.

The current neurology fellowship application timeline, which has moved progressively earlier over the past years, requires residents to select a fellowship before they are exposed to many neurological subspecialties, and does not give them adequate time to make an informed career decision.  Dissatisfaction of the current fellowship application timeline is prevalent among both neurology program directors and residents. Data from the 2017 AAN Adult Neurology Program Director Survey demonstrate that 78% of the 106 participating directors believe the fellowship application process starts too early. This is further supported by the results of the 2017 Graduating Neurology Residents survey, 88% of the participants felt that the fellowship application cycle should start no sooner than the second half of PGY-3 year.

To best support residents, the UCNS endorses the fellowship application timeline outlined in the AAN Position Statement on Fellowship Application Timing.